1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plastic tubing and, more particularly, to a method for forming plastic tubing into coils and to a coiling system for practicing the method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, plastic tubing, such as tubing made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), has been placed into coiled form by wrapping or coiling the tubing onto a mandrel, which may either be made of ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) polyethylene, or have a sleeve or covering of that material, and by placing the mandrel into an oven for a suitable length of time to heat-form the tubing into a coil. Not only is this prior-art method inefficient, but it is also very labor-intensive and prohibitively expensive.
As a consequence, there has long been sought a more economical and straightforward method for producing a coil from a length of plastic tubing. Such a method is made possible with the use of the coiling system of the present invention.